Enhancing Healthcare Team Outcomes
In the United States and other developed countries, the prevention of sexually transmitted genital infections and complications mainly focuses on screening and treating nonpregnant sexually active women aged 25 years or younger on an annual basis. Screening for pregnant women is recommended, and screening and treatment of women over 25 years of age are recommendations if there are identifiable risk factors, such as new or multiple sexual partners. Screening of young men in high-risk settings should be a consideration if resources allow. Urine or endocervical NAAT are the recommended screening tests. The partner should be screened and treated at the same time.
Healthcare workers and nurse practitioners should educate patients on the importance of using a condom during sex, practicing safe sex or abstaining from sexual activity to prevent chlamydia.
Pharmacists should verify dosing and agent selection for antimicrobial therapy, check for drug interactions, and report any concerns to the prescriber.
The prognosis is excellent with prompt initiation of treatment early, and with the completion of the entire course of antibiotics, antibiotic treatment is 95% effective for first-time therapy.
No vaccine is currently available for either trachoma or chlamydial genital infections.
How Is Chlamydia Treated In Pregnant Women
Doxycycline, levofloxacin, and ofloxacin are all contraindicated in women who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Because of this, the recommended treatment is a one-time dose of azithromycin. If azithromycin is not well-tolerated, alternative treatments include amoxicillin or one of several formulations of erythromycin .
Pregnant women who have been treated for chlamydia should return after three weeks to be retested to establish that they have been cured. They should return again after three months to evaluate for reinfection. Untreated chlamydia in pregnant women can lead to early rupture of the fluid sac containing the fetus and premature delivery. It can also lead to pneumonia or conjunctivitis in the newborn .
Diagnosis And Treatment Of Chlamydia Trachomatis Infection
KARL E. MILLER, M.D., University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Am Fam Physician. 2006 Apr 15 73:1411-1416.
SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Azithromycin or doxycycline is recommended for the treatment of uncomplicated genitourinary chlamydial infection.
SORT: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Azithromycin or doxycycline is recommended for the treatment of uncomplicated genitourinary chlamydial infection.
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Im Pregnant How Does Chlamydia Affect My Baby
If you are pregnant and have chlamydia, you can give the infection to your baby during delivery. This can cause an eye infection or pneumonia in your baby. Having chlamydia may also make it more likely to deliver your baby early.
If you are pregnant, you should receive testing for chlamydia at your first prenatal visit. Talk to your healthcare provider about getting the correct examination, testing, and treatment. Testing and treatment are the best ways to prevent health problems.
The Best Treatment Methods For Chlamydia
Overall, a natural cure for chlamydia that is backed up by research does not exist. The best way to cure this STI is to reach out to your doctor and begin treatment with antibiotics.
Treatment with azithromycin and doxycycline is the most common. Alternatives include erythromycin base , erythromycin ethylsuccinate , ofloxacin , and levofloxacin . Never attempt to self-diagnose and self-treat chlamydia. Your doctor will help you reach faster results.
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How Do You Test For Male Chlamydia
Early testing and treatment of chlamydia is key. If you’ve recently had unprotected sex with a new partner, with someone you suspect may be infected or if you just haven’t been tested for STIs in a while, you should get tested. You can do this at your local GP or GUM clinic, .
Alternatively, you can order a chlamydia test kit from us and take your test at home and further chlamydia treatment if required. Because chlamydia is highly prevalent among 16 to 25 year-olds, chlamydia tests are now offered at most youth clubs and universities too.
If you don’t have much time or would prefer a home test, you can order a chlamydia test kit from us and have it delivered to your UK address within 48 hours. Your sample will be sent to a lab for analysis and youll be contacted with the result within a few days.
Urogenital Infection In Women
In women, chlamydial infection of the lower genital tract occurs in the endocervix. It can cause an odorless, mucoid vaginal discharge, typically with no external pruritus, although many women have minimal or no symptoms.2 An ascending infection can result in pelvic inflammatory disease .
Physical findings of urogenital chlamydial infection in women include cervicitis with a yellow or cloudy mucoid discharge from the os. The cervix tends to bleed easily when rubbed with a polyester swab or scraped with a spatula. Chlamydial infection cannot be distinguished from other urogenital infections by symptoms alone. Clinical microscopy and the amine test can be used to help differentiate chlamydial infection from other lower genital tract infections such as urinary tract infection, bacterial vaginosis, and trichomoniasis.3 In addition, chlamydial infection in the lower genital tract does not cause vaginitis thus, if vaginal findings are present, they usually indicate a different diagnosis or a coinfection.
Some women with C. trachomatis infection develop urethritis symptoms may consist of dysuria without frequency or urgency. A urethral discharge can be elicited by compressing the urethra during the pelvic examination. Urinalysis usually will show more than five white blood cells per high-powered field, but urethral cultures generally are negative.
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How Do They Test For Chlamydia In Men
Chlamydia is one of the most common bacterial infections that are spread through sexual intercourse not only in the United States but in several other areas of the world too. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1.7 million cases of this sexually transmitted infection were reported in 2018. This data accounts for the United States alone. The World Health Organization estimates that about 2.7% of men around the world have been infected with Chlamydia between 2009 and 2016.
Due to the fact that chlamydia is a condition that affects male and female patients in unique ways, it is important to consider the differences in testing for these conditions too. In this post, we will consider some unique ways that chlamydia tends to affect men and take a look at what tests are performed to identify the presence of this bacterial infection in a male patient.
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How Long Can You Have Chlamydia Without Knowing
If youve had intercourse with an infected man or woman, chlamydia symptoms may appear between 1 3 weeks after contact.
However, you may still be asymptomatic after a chlamydia infection. This is because chlamydia can be silent or dormant for months and years without showing symptoms.
In men, about 50 70 percent will show symptoms of chlamydia while only 30 50 percent of women will be symptomatic. Absent symptoms of chlamydia do not mean absent infection. You should take chlamydia test to confirm if you have the infection or not.
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Clinical Features And Sequelae
- Genital infections with C. trachomatis present as urethritis and proctitis in men and women, cervicitis, salpingitis, endometritis and pelvic inflammatory disease in women, and orchitis, epididymitis and prostatitis in men.
- Perinatal transmission of C. trachomatis can result in conjunctivitis and pneumonia in newborns and young infants.
- At least 70% of genital C. trachomatis infections in women and 50% in men are asymptomatic at the time of diagnosis.
- The natural course of genital chlamydia infections is not well understood:
- Spontaneous resolution of asymptomatic infections is not uncommon.
- Asymptomatic infections, particularly endocervical infections, can persist for long periods.
- Many patients with asymptomatic infections will at some point develop symptoms and clinical disease.
- Asymptomatic infections can result in complications such as blocked tubes and pelvic inflammatory disease.
Put Sex On Hold During And After Chlamydia Treatment
If you were given a single dose of antibiotics to treat your chlamydia, you should not have any kind of sex for a full seven days after the day you took the medicine. If youre taking antibiotics for a week, wait another seven days after the last day of your treatment. Be sure to take all of the medicine that is prescribed for you.
Not having sex for seven days after treatment is complete is important so you dont spread the infection to your partner or partners.
Medication stops the infection and can keep you from spreading the disease, but it wont cure any permanent damage that the infection caused before you started treatment. In women, such damage can include blocking the fallopian tubes, causing infertility.
If you still have symptoms for more than a few days after you stop taking your medicine, go back to see your doctor or other healthcare provider so they can check you again.
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How Did I Get Chlamydia If I Didnt Cheat
A note from Cleveland Clinic
It can be embarrassing to talk about anything sex-related with your healthcare provider, including STI prevention. But your sex life is an important part of your health that your provider needs to know about to care for you. Not getting the treatment you need for chlamydia can pose serious risks to your health. Speak with your provider about getting regularly screened for chlamydia and other STIs to reduce your risks of complications. Practice safer sex to prevent the spread of chlamydia.
How Will I Know If I Have Chlamydia
You can only be certain you have chlamydia if you have a test.
Anyone can get chlamydia. Youre more likely to have it if youre under 25, have a new sexual partner, or more than one sexual partner in the last year, and if you havent used condoms.
You should have a test if:
- you, or a partner, have or think you might have symptoms
- youve recently had sex without a condom with a new partner
- you, or a partner, have had sex without a condom with other partners
- during a vaginal examination, your doctor or nurse says that the cervix is inflamed and/or theres an unusual discharge
- a sexual partner tells you they have a sexually transmitted infection
- you have another STI.
If you live in England, and youre a woman who is under 25 and sexually active, its recommended that you have a chlamydia test when you change sexual partner and once a year.
If youre a man who is under 25 and sexually active, its recommended that you have a chlamydia test once a year if you are not using condoms with new or casual partners.
You could still have chlamydia even if a partner has tested negative. The only way to make sure you dont have chlamydia is to get tested yourself.
If you have chlamydia, youll be encouraged to be tested for other STIs as you can have more than one STI at the same time.
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What Other Problems Can Chlamydia Cause
In women, an untreated infection can spread to your uterus and fallopian tubes, causing pelvic inflammatory disease . PID can cause permanent damage to your reproductive system. This can lead to long-term pelvic pain, infertility, and ectopic pregnancy. Women who have had chlamydia infections more than once are at higher risk of serious reproductive health complications.
Men often don’t have health problems from chlamydia. Sometimes it can infect the epididymis . This can cause pain, fever, and, rarely, infertility.
Both men and women can develop reactive arthritis because of a chlamydia infection. Reactive arthritis is a type of arthritis that happens as a “reaction” to an infection in the body.
Babies born to infected mothers can get eye infections and pneumonia from chlamydia. It may also make it more likely for your baby to be born too early.
Untreated chlamydia may also increase your chances of getting or giving HIV/AIDS.
Can Chlamydia Affect My Fertility
A chlamydia or gonorrhea infection may cause inflammation or scarring of the reproductive organs. Sometimes, this may lead to infertility . Both men and women can experience fertility problems after a chlamydia infection. Your risk of infertility increases if you delay treatment.
Women with untreated gonorrhea or chlamydia can also develop a condition known as pelvic inflammatory disease . PID sometimes causes your reproductive organs to swell, triggering chronic pelvic pain and making it difficult to conceive.
Chlamydia and gonorrhea can also trigger early laborâand pregnant women with chlamydia can spread the infection to their babies during delivery .
Prompt treatment reduces your risk of complications, as undiagnosed chlamydia may put your health at risk. Regular STI testing can help with early diagnosis of the infection, and most people who receive treatment for chlamydia make a full recovery.
Learning more about the different types of STDs someone can getâlike chlamydiaâcan help you care for your sexual health. To easily check for chlamydia from the comfort of home, simply collect a urine sample and send it to a lab with prepaid shipping using the Everlywell at-home Gonorrhea and Chlamydia test kit.
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Parents Have A Role In Chlamydia Prevention
Parents can do two main things to help their kids avoid getting chlamydia and other sexually transmitted infections , says Dombrowski. These two things are:
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How Will I Know If The Chlamydia Has Affected My Fertility
Chlamydia is just one of many factors that can affect your fertility. Most people whove had chlamydia wont become infertile or have an ectopic pregnancy . If youve had chlamydia you wont normally be offered any routine tests to see if youre fertile unless you or a partner are having difficulty getting pregnant. If youre concerned, talk to your doctor or practice nurse.
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Causes And Risk Factors
Chlamydia is an STI caused by a specific strain of bacteria known as Chlamydia trachomatis.
Chlamydia is more common in women than in men. In fact, its estimated that the overall rate of infection is for women than men in the United States.
Some of the other risk factors for infection include:
- not using barrier methods like condoms consistently with new sexual partners
- having a sexual partner who is having sex with other people
- having a history of chlamydia or other STIs
When Can I Have Sex Again
If you were diagnosed with chlamydia, wait to have sex again until you have finished your treatment.
For some antibiotics, such as doxycycline, this means may need to wait 1 week to have sex, or until you have completed your prescribed course of treatment.
If you were prescribed a single dose of medication, like azithromycin, wait 7 days after taking the medication before having sex.
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Can Chlamydia Make Men Infertile
Yes, untreated chlamydia may make men infertile in rare cases.
Chlamydia can spread to a manâs testicles and the tubes which carry sperm from the testicles, called epididymis. Both the testicles and epididymis can become painful and swollen. This is a condition known as epididymitis or epididymo-orchitis. It is very rare. Chlamydia infections in testicular tissue may affect a manâs fertility, due to a lower sperm count and lower quality sperm. Antibiotics can treat the infection effectively.
How To Prevent Chlamydial Urethritis
Men who are sexually active can prevent STDs with safe sex practices. Male and female condoms can greatly reduce the spread of infection. Make sure you use a new condom for each sexual encounter.
Regular screenings for STDs, including HIV, are important for anyone whos sexually active, and especially for those with multiple partners.
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What Is The Treatment For Chlamydia
Chlamydia can be easily cured with antibiotics. HIV-positive persons with chlamydia should receive the same treatment as those who are HIV-negative.
Persons with chlamydia should abstain from sexual activity for 7 days after single dose antibiotics or until completion of a 7-day course of antibiotics, to prevent spreading the infection to partners. It is important to take all of the medication prescribed to cure chlamydia. Medication for chlamydia should not be shared with anyone. Although medication will stop the infection, it will not repair any permanent damage done by the disease. If a persons symptoms continue for more than a few days after receiving treatment, he or she should return to a health care provider to be reevaluated.
Repeat infection with chlamydia is common. Women whose sex partners have not been appropriately treated are at high risk for re-infection. Having multiple chlamydial infections increases a womans risk of serious reproductive health complications, including pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy. Women and men with chlamydia should be retested about three months after treatment of an initial infection, regardless of whether they believe that their sex partners were successfully treated.
Infants infected with chlamydia may develop ophthalmia neonatorum and/or pneumonia. Chlamydial infection in infants can be treated with antibiotics.